the HOT List

On December 2, the nation’s No. 1 broadcast TV station owner saw its over-the-air stations and its recently acquired WGN America cable network blocked from Dish subscribers, as negotiations reached a stalemate over a new retransmission consent deal. A resolution is not expected soon. That said, Nexstar has gained new clearance for WGN America.

Are companies such as Ford and General Motors aware of what NEXTGEN TV can provide? Yes, says Anne Schelle, the Managing Director of Pearl TV, who speaks exclusively with Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by DOT.FM. LISTEN HERE

Yes, there was an agenda. But there were stories about Buffalo and a lemonade stand, too, and smiles as the FCC's December Open Meeting entered its first 15 minutes on Zoom. It's the end of an era, and the meeting was the last for one of its Republican Commissioners -- with its Chairman's goodbye scheduled for January 13, 2021.

On Wednesday, Oregon Republican House Member Greg Walden, who opted not to seek re-election, delivered his farewell remarks on the House Floor. He's retiring from more than 30 years of public service -- including 22 in Congress.

Nathan Simington will take his seat as a Commissioner, replacing Mike O'Rielly, with the transition in power at the White House from President Trump to Joe Biden. Concurrently, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will step down, as is traditional with a change in executive branch leadership. While Washington is abuzz about a possible FCC "deadlock" come January 21, is that a true worry?

Deloitte on Tuesday released its "2021 Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions," which highlights how worldwide trends in TMT may affect businesses and consumers worldwide. In addition, the report highlights how many of these trends are being driven by the global pandemic's economic and societal impacts.

It may be non-binding, but it certainly has meaning. The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed H. Res 549, a resolution reaffirming the lower body of Congress’ commitment to diversity in media.

Nielsen has responded to the increased demand, and desire, of marketers for an effective multimedia metric that will allow it to best gauge where to place media dollars. But, it will be two years until the data, which doesn't include Radio consumption, comes to market. A full transition is four years away.

MAGNA has released its Global Ad Forecast for December/Winter 2020. In this fresh InFOCUS Podcast, EVP/GM for Global Market Intelligence Vincent Letang chats exclusively with RBR+TVBR on linear media trends versus digital on a global scale, and what may lie ahead in 2021 for U.S. radio and TV companies. LISTEN HERE

Hearst Television stations serving communities tied to a "neighboring DMA" are being removed from Comcast's Xfinity lineups in a move directly tied to retransmission consent fee reduction. That's not sitting well with the two U.S. Senators representing Massachusetts, or two Bay State Congressmen. They want the Boston ABC affiliate kept on Xfinity in one key county.

A one-time Beautiful Music radio station owned by ABC that was also a Radio Unica affiliate circa 1998 and later acquired by Multicultural Radio Broadcasting is now being sold. As such, the AM station is poised to become the market's home for BIN: Black Information Network. An Asset Purchase Agreement was filed with the FCC last week, and details emerged Monday.

The company that is presently in a carriage dispute with Nexstar Media Group over retransmission consent fees has just agreed to settle a telemarketing lawsuit brought against the direct broadcast satellite services provider by a host of states. The cost to Dish? It's in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

One of the nation's most respected communications law practitioners got his start in the industry, as did many other radio professionals, by spending more time at his St. Louis University college radio station than in classes. Now, he'll have plenty of time to listen to the radio without distracting his work: John Garziglia is retiring.

On December 9, noted media revenue analyst Gordon Borrell will offer Radio's Financial Summit, Forecast 2021 LIVE, attendees an exclusive look at the findings from a just-completed survey of 944 radio buyers. Ahead of the appearance, Borrell has released topline results from Borrell Associates' 2020 Local Advertiser Survey. What are the key findings?

On Tuesday evening, 63 television stations owned by TEGNA were blocked from DirecTV customers, as talks regarding a new retransmission consent agreement between the two companies failed to reach a fresh deal before the prior accord expired. Twenty-four hours later, an even bigger "blackout" transpired, and it involves Dish and Nexstar.